Hype Marketing: Is it worth being the “best”?

These days, doughnuts are in trend and this has brought about a fierce battle for doughnut supremacy. But it’s no fun just going for crowd favourite – the discovery is a pretty significant part of the whole experience.

Just yesterday, I stumbled upon a doughnut shop claiming they had the best Nutella doughnuts. I was a bit sceptical but I gave it a shot, only to find myself utterly disappointed. I might have felt less disappointed, had it not been advertised as being “the best”. And this led me to ponderhype marketing tactics, specifically, whether it is really worth being the “best”.

With superiority comes responsibility. Brands who claim superiority must be able to walk the talk. Failure to do so will result in a loss of confidence and trust, and in turn cause consumers to resonate negatively with the brand. This can be a barrier for returns and repeat purchases, and most importantly, it greatly discourages recommendations through word-of-mouth. These 14 false advertising million-dollar scandals are testament to this.